Effectiveness of Digital Diabetes Management Technology on Blood Glucose in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes at Home: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) face elevated morbidity, mortality, and care costs. Digital self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) can automatically upload data to apps, share the data with health care providers, reduce errors, and aid long-term diabetes management. Objective: This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of digital diabetes management techniques based on digital SMBG on blood glucose in patients with T2DM at home. Methods: A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, China Biomedical Literature Database, and Cochrane Library for articles published from the establishment of each database to December 25, 2023. Data were extracted independently by 2 researchers (YX and NX), and the risk of bias in individual trials was rated using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool. A meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.3 (Cochrane). Results: Twelve studies were included, involving 1669 participants. The meta-analysis found that in the digital diabetes management group, hemoglobin A1c (mean difference [MD] -0.52%, 95% CI -0.63% to -0.42%; P<.001), fasting blood sugar (MD -0.42, 95% CI -0.65 to -0.19 mmol/L; P<.001), 2-hour postprandial blood sugar (MD -0.64, 95% CI -0.97 to -0.32 mmol/L; P<.001), and BMI (MD -1.55, 95% CI -2.92 to -0.17 kg/m2; P=.03) were each improved compared to the control group. Conclusions: Digital diabetes management has been shown to effectively improve blood glucose levels and BMI in individuals with T2DM in home settings. A key feature of successful digital health interventions is the frequent SMBG by patients, supported by dedicated health care professionals who provide timely, personalized, and responsive guidance.